Friday, May 10, 2013

Still at the Beginning

Everything always takes longer than expected, and even the best-planned project usually takes at least twice as long as one thinks it will. In short, the sheltered area under the eaves that was supposed to be paved weeks ago is not finished yet; first the bad weather and

then the holidays caused a delay in accomplishing the goal. Until this new sheltered place is completely fixed, everything else will have to wait. There's so much more to be done and time is passing by way too fast!

Renovating the only cat room in the front yard will be a big challenge, as all of the furniture needs to be moved into the sheltered area under the eaves that the workers are currently working on, and all of the kitties are supposed to move there as well. It will

probably turn out to be much harder than we now imagine, in light of the fact that cats are not easily organized and most of them certainly won’t be delighted with the idea. However, despite all of the inconveniences, what needs to be done will be done.

Raising funds for shelter repairs never goes smoothly. I am well aware that only heartbreaking images of starving and mangled animals attract attention and that the rule “the worse, the better” is crucial to successful fundraising, but in a

very old-fashioned way, I don’t want to make things more dramatic than they really are. I won’t tell stories that Felix cats are dying of hunger, as they are not. I won’t tell stories that I finance them out of my retirement pension only, as I don’t. I would never

ever talk about giving up on them as I consider it utterly irresponsible and unthinkable. Telling the truth may not always be clever in a world full of sharks, but there’s no such thing as a half-truth, or a white lie or a justified lie, a lie is a lie is a lie.

Shelter repairs may seem boring and unexciting, there are no heroic actions or saving lives in a literal sense, Felix kitties are chubby and relaxed, so the conclusion drawn is that there’s no emergency here. But there is! Just a small part of the roof

was renovated last year. The ceiling of the cat room mentioned above is sagging, the outdoor fence posts are crumbling, the entire chain link fence is barely holding up and almost all of the walls on the property, which were originally made of bricks and

rammed earth, are soaking wet inside. Damp patches are forming both on ceilings and walls in the house and pretty much everything is falling apart. If the building starts to collapse in on us, no one here will be happy and relaxed anymore and we'll be in serious

trouble.

Please, take a look at our project! We have accomplished a lot already, but more needs to be done; it's not only risky, but it’s dangerous to stop halfway through. Once we're over these hurdles and everything's been

repaired, the shelter will just need to be maintained in the years to come and the Felix kitties will be safe forever and we can continue saving lives.

Cats that look like Hitler

Harmony Fund and The Great Animal Rescue Chase

Animal Medical Care Foundation

Mission Statement

The main aim of Felinologic Association Felix is to raise awareness of (and eventually funds for) a private shelter for homeless cats in the Vojvodina region of Serbia. We will also bring you true stories and lots of pictures of these charming creatures. Email us at felix.shelter@gmail.com